Cornell & Diehl Morley's Best

The star components are the burleys, which are very nutty with some molasses, a little wood, a hint of spice along with a fair amount of earth. It also has a very minor sharp, rough note here and there from the white burley. The bright Virginia is lightly grassy with a little tart and tangy citrus in a support role, though I find it occasionally buried under the burleys and Latakia. The Cyprian Latakia is a secondary player, adding smokey, woody, earthy, musty sweet push for a little complexity as it underscores the taste from start to finish. It is likely responsible for the touch of floralness. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite, but needs to be smoked at a sipping rate for best effect. Dry in bulk, it benefits from light hydration. Burns a little fast, cool, clean and fairly smooth with a very consistent, mildly sweet and more savory, rugged flavor. Requires few relights, and leaves almost no moisture in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. The after taste pleasantly lingers a little, and the room note is a step stronger. It’s medium strength, but easily repeatable through the day. It's more refined, lightly less floral, and less harsh than Blue Boar, which is the blend this was based on.

-JimInks

Over a half century ago when I was a young pipe smoker the three latakia blends I smoked most often were Revelation, Middleton Walnut, and Blue Boar Rough Cut. Revelation and Walnut had noticeable but not strong latakia content. Blue Boar was somewhat stronger in the lat department, but far less than a full throated bomb. All three blends are now deceased. Blue Boar was the first to go, in the early 1980's. (In my early years of piping I occasionally puffed Dunhill latakia mixtures, but not much, for they cost more.)

Morley's Best constitutes an effort to replicate Blue Boar. Creating a true clone of a discontinued blend is almost impossible, but Morley's Best (if my memory serves me correctly) comes quite close. Actually, according to my memory, Morley's Best is a little smoother, lacking a slightly harsh edge I noted in Blue Boar.

Open a tin and you find a varied cut brown mixture with an unexceptional aroma. You can note the latakia, but it is not overwhelming. The smell is slightly tart, and is not exceptionally strong. Burleys form the basis of the blend, and the burleys are of three kinds with varied cuts. There is a cube cut and then two ribbon cuts of both white and dark burley. The latakia (easily noted as the dark strands) is significant but not the lead. The mixture is balanced with some Bright Virginia, not quite so sweet as most Virginias are.

The varied cut loads easily and is not difficult to light. I seldom need a relight. The taste is medium, with the latakia obvious but not in the lead role. The nicotine falls into the medium category. There is no particular degeneration to bitterness, that late smoke bitterness being a fault with many burley forward blends. The smoke has no complexity, but it is not tiring. The room note is not exceptional. Morley's best does not have enough latakia to make it really obnoxious to others, but the overall aroma possesses no particular virtue. This blend smokes dry to a grey ash with almost no dottle.

Overall, Morley's Best is a solid example of what is often called American English. Those who enjoy it will primarily be those who prefer or at least often smoke burley blends. Most of that contingent will find Blue Boar a good smoke. Aside from those who actually despise burley or latakia, most smokers will deem it acceptable, even if they are not overwhelmed.

I thoroughly enjoy smoking Morley's best, although my pleasure may be enhanced in part in the reverie of smoking Blue Boar in days gone by.

For those whose pipe collection allows particular briars designated for particular kinds of tobacco this does best in the latakia collection. For those with modest pipe collections, a cob or meerschaum is suggested.

Morley's Best contains hot, harsh Burley that is combined with a light dose of Latakia and a smidgen of Virginia leaf. The Burley gets top billing and stars starting at mid-bowl and the Virginia appears to be low on the taste totem pole.

This blend does burn well and does need a lot of re-lights, I just think I got a tin with some unprocessed Burley.

Pipestud

The quintessential "American" English blend. it certainly is burley heavy and that burley drives this blend. The three mentioned in the listing do not state dark burley, but perhaps the rough cut or cubed is where I pick its presence. Any more and this would be a cigar blend. The Latakia is in here but not overpowering and the Virginia is mildy supportive. It is very smooth despite its full taste. And it packs a sneaky punch of nicotine which becomes very apparent at about 2/3 burn - every time I smoke it in fact. (I am a regular Old Joe Krantz smoker so I make the observation with some knowledge of what a nic-kick can feel like). As much as I like it, I can look forward to a daily bowl (one only); I cannot see this ever being a blend I would load up on a long drive on the interstate highway. Perhaps it should come with a warning about operating motor vehicles and heavy equipment. However, for a late afternoon smoke or a blend for fishing day - this fits nicely. It does leave me with a strong finish and an hours-long aftertaste as a heavy ligero laden cigar would. It can also rasp my tongue fairly easily and not because I stoke it up looking for more flavor. I just pull on it too rapidly because it tastes so good. It is still so smooth and tasty otherwise that I do not hesitate a 3 star rating and might raise it to four later.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, does burley better than Bob Runowski. In my opinion, he is the world's master blender of burley. Morley's Best is a superb example of his talent with this magnificent leaf, and a testament to the consistency and quality of Cornell and Diehl.

The appearance of this tobacco in the plastic bag is quite attractive. Cubed burley, coarse ribbon-cut burley and pale Virginia, and black strands of latakia make this mixture a pleasure just to look at (aren't we pipe smokers geeks?). The aroma while filling my pipe is an alluring mixture of plain tobacco and Cyprian latakia, which I prefer over Syrian anyday.

At the match, Morley's Best proves to be a straightforward, stout blend of the kind real pipe smokers appreciate. I don't like latakia unless it's in a burley blend, and Morley's Best is a powerful and pleasing smoke for me, particularly in a cob.

I would give this blend four stars were it not for its habit of biting me on occasion. Apart from that, this is one of the best American Englishes around and already a classic.

Thanks, Bob.

Cornell & Diehl - Morley's Best.

A negative with this is the fact it's too dry. Now, if I'd had this cellared for years I'd take the blame, but this only arrived a few weeks back.

The mix includes all sorts of shape and size, plus a few twiggy pieces. There's not much in the field of aroma from M.B., it just smells like a straightforward, uncased, blend. It takes to the flame with ease, and then imminently qualifies as one of the 'Robust' smokes. This robustness is caused by the large quantity of Burley, it accounts for a lot of the flavour. The Latakia isn't unnoticeable, it's the second in command, but not too harsh or smoky. The Virginia's very lazy in M.B., unless I was deliberately searching for it I recon I might miss it. The burn's good from this and the smokes about medium in temperature.

Nicotine's medium, and the room-note isn't too bad.

For the rating I'm torn between two and three stars, so I'll give it two and a half.

Recommended/Somewhat Recommended, whichever way 2.5 falls!

I purchased this blend because it had Bob Runowski's name attached to it. I believe Mr. Runowski was a blending genius and would try anything he had a hand in putting together. That being said I have always had a love/hate relationship with C&D blends overall. They are a quality product but something about them just doesnt tickle my palate. I am constantly trying new tobaccos and I dont hesitate to try any of their blends, but nothing yet has blown my socks off. I have however found a bunch of really solid smokes.

Out of the tin this is a typical C&D blend in that it comes very dry. Most C&D blends do. In fact my favorite C&D blend is autumn evening, and even this maple syrup based aromatic is in no need of drying.

The cut is very thick and chunky. I believe the folks at C&D call it course cut. This makes it a little difficult to pack well, but did not seem to affect the burn much.

This is a burley based blend and it certainly performs that way. The flavor is big and there is a definite strength in flavor and nicotine. There is this great barbecue flavor that keeps emerging and then disappearing. Really nice.

One thing I did notice was this blend seemed to dry my mouth out a bit. Even though I was drinking coffee while I enjoyed the bowl.

A good blend.

Mr. Morley and I got off on the wrong foot. I thought he was a bitter old man without any redeeming qualities and had almost written him off. I'm glad I didn't.

The first bowl of this blend puckered my mouth with bitterness and seemed to be so unbalanced that I had no idea how anyone could find anything good with this blend. Towards the end of the smoke I tasted a few flashes of latakia spice along with a wonderful earthy nuttiness. Hmmm... There might be something worthwhile here. I let the sample air out just a bit and the next bowl had a subdued bitterness that was more in line with the taste of burley than mouth puckering tannins that I first tasted. There was a nuttiness without sweetness that seemed more balanced by the earthiness of the virginias. The real showcase was a spice brought by the latakia which included a meaty smokiness as well. It wasn't quite the sweet spice you get from Orientals but it is comparable.

The nicotine from the blend is squarely in the medium range and will certainly satisfy without making you feel light headed. Over time this blend has been smoothing out and has a wonderful, interesting taste without being overpowering. I heartily recommend giving this blend 3 to 6 month to let the leaves get to know each other. If you try it young you'll be disappointed but if you're patient you'll be definitely rewarded. I recommend this for burley smokers without reservation. If you like English blends with sweetness to them then you'll be disappointed by the slightly bitter burley components. If you smoke mainly Virginias you may find this blend simply overpowering but I still recommend giving it a shot. I will be buying more of this blend and it has most definitely impressed me. Bob Runowski... you've done good once again.

Just as a note Morley's best is the only blend that I've smoked that I feel really showcases what burley and latakia can aspire to be as a pairing. Very complimentary to each other and quite an interesting blend that is never boring. It also lights well, keeps lit with a lighter hand at packing. It also seems to bear some family resemblence to Junkyard Dawg and Old college. If you prefer a little more sweetness then I would direct you to those two blends first.

Morley's best is a nice example of a burley/latakia blend. It starts off with a strong, bold latakia flavor which mellowed out almost immediately into a nice nutty burley. The burleys in this blend are pleasant, nutty and bold. The virginia however may add some sweetness but will also add some tongue bite if you're not careful. Once the initial latakia bomb retreats to the background it provides a nice smooth smokiness throughout the smoke.

For some reason, halfway through the bowl the smoke starts to taste bitter. That may be a huge downside for a lot of folks out there but for me its almost a plus. It makes in a little unpleasant for an afternoon/evening smoke. Though in the morning paired with a nice hot cup of dark roast black coffee the bitterness in both makes for a great way to wake up. Overall, When it comes to Burley based blends with a touch of latakia this is a good one, but if I could only pick one this wouldn't be it. Big n' Burley takes that honor.